Hi,
I’m 70 hours into what should be a 120-hour fast.
I just gave in tonight and had slightly more than 1 L of coke zero. I then did a bit of research and some sources say that it does break the fast in some respects, but that it isn’t clear.
If the science isn’t clear on whether artificial sweeteners break a fast, why do people claim with such assurance that it does indeed break a fast? Or have I not read from the right sources?
Thank you!
I think the thought is that it does create an insulin spike so it essentially breaks fast… also supposed to make you hungry because the body is expecting nutrients and doesn’t get them… something I read
>If the science isn’t clear on whether artificial sweeteners break a fast, why do people claim with such assurance that it does indeed break a fast?
You’re asking why do people claim with such assurance things that they could not possibly be certain of?
Welcome to humanity, and the internet’s shocking magnification of our intellectual shortcomings.
Beyond that, I think you need to decompose your question a little bit more, whether something “breaks a fast” or not depends on what you want to get out of the fast. So instead of asking generally (and what is considered “fasting” or “not fasting” in the general sense could be an arbitrary social construct), think specifically about your goals in this situation. What are you trying to do with fasting and is it helping you or hurting you? And keep in mind there’s no harm in experimenting with yourself.
Personally I cut it out because it keeps my psychological desire for sweet things alive and because I thought it was shortchanging me from the opportunity to practice self-control that fasting offered. You may not care about these things, and that’s fine.
When I was drinking them (and I would drink like 12 a day), I noticed no blood glucose response and although I cannot self-test insulin I cannot fathom the effect on insulin to be very significant (though I understand there is one because just flavor or anticipating sweetness causes a small insulin response), it didn’t change the way I felt at all, made staying on a fast psychologically easier, and weight loss was not effected.
I want to use fasting partly as a tool to change my desires and to build the virtue of temperance and delayed-gratification though, so they had to go. That’s just me though, I’m not giving this as advice and I know most people nowadays don’t fast for these reasons which is fine.
I just don’t eat ultraprocessed foods with gross chemicals that are not good for my body regardless of whether or not I’m fasting. Artificial sweeteners are not good for gut health regardless of their impact on “breaking a fast”. That said, do whatever works for you - fasting is an individual activity & what ppl choose to put in their bodies is their choice. Do you!